As John Locke, one of the Enlightenment founders, so our initiative believes that “the actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts”. After addressing this quote to those in power as well as to those who should control them, we consider it our duty that one of our “actions” should be to inform our fellow citizens.

In an effort to pierce through the uproar of misleading screaming voices and shifting of focus which constitute nowadays the greek “public sphere”, with this press release, we attempt to investigate the consequences of the to-be-approved multi bill, on the Greek water services since EYATH and EYDAP are both mentioned in an article in appendix D of the bill which establishes, among others, a “Super-Fund”, entitled “Hellenic Company of Assets and Participations S.A. (HCAP).

In the draft of the bill (Article 198), EYATH and EYDAP appear among those publicly controlled companies which will be transferred in their entirety to EDHS (“Company of Public Paticipations S.A.”) within “a next period of time”, with EDHS being founded at the same bill and described as one of the subsidiaries of the new “Super- Fund”.

After the bill was uploaded to the Hellenic Parliament’s official website, there have been reports and leaks that the two companies have been omitted by the Ministry of Finance due to reactions. However, according to the same reports, there is no assurance or commitment that they will not be transferred to the Super-Fund at “a next period of time”. If the companies do get transferred to EDHS either via the current bill or via a future one, the consequences will be, the following:

1. The two companies will cease to be public utility agencies with the objective of providing uninterrupted and quality services of water and sanitation to the citizens of Athens and Thessaloniki. They will be instrumentalized in a contradictory to their scope way, since they will become by law simple “assets” in EDHS’ portfolio and will serve the Super- Fund’s “specific scope”, as it is mentioned in article 185 para. 1: “The Company manages and leverages its assets in order to: a) contribute resources to implement the investment policy of the country and to proceed to investments that contribute to the enhancement of the development of the Greek economy and b) contribute to the fulfillment of financial obligations of the Greek Republic under Law 4336/2015 (a 94).
2. The two companies will be privatized in violation of the Constitution, as judged by the decision of the State Council session 1906/2014 regarding EYDAP, since all their assets and their subsidiaries are to be transferred to the Super – Fund which, as mentioned in Article 184 para. 4, “does not belong to the public or broader public sector, in the way that each is defined.”
3. Management and administration of the two companies will be controlled, in substance and form, by the creditors, taking into account that: a) the Supervisory Board of the Super Fund consists of 5 members two of which are appointed by the creditors (with the consent of the Minister of Finance) and three from the Greek government (with the consent of the creditors) and that b) between the borrower Greek State and the creditors, there is no equal footing since the latter may impose what they want, as it has been repeatedly demonstrated in the past.
4. If and when EDHS is granted with the right of allotment and modification of the concessions that are relevant to EYDAP and EYATH, the public nature and the public control of the water services may be covertly reversed.

The transfer of the two companies to a subsidiary of the new Super – Fund which by its founding law aims to “enhance the value and improve the performance of its assets as well as to create revenue from them”, -as already witnessed in a series of similar ventures in France, Germany, the US and elsewhere-, will result in:

• Further commercialization of the common of water
• Increase of tariffs and neglect of investments in infrastructure and networks
• Increase in the number of citizens who might end up in risk of losing their human right to access to water and sanitation as this was established by the UN on 3/8/2010 (A / RES / 64/292)
• The loss of control on the decision making regarding the country’s water policies and planning-taking into account the strategic importance and expertise of the two largest water companies in the country-.
• The installment of opaque concession contracts, as it has been already the case in Berlin and elsewhere, at the expense of the public interest, as these contracts often contain terms such as profits guarantees etc.

Furthermore, and more essentially, any agreement between the Greek government and its creditors to include EYDAP S.A. and EYATh S.A. in the new Super-Fund will constitute by both parties, a scandalous breach of the democratically expressed will of the people as this has been recorded at the Thessaloniki referendum on the 18^th of May 2014 (where 98,03% of Thessalonians voted against the privatization of EYATh) but also after the successful completion of the ECI right2water in our country and at European level,  demanding the adoption of the human right to water by the EU and the protection of water services from liberalization. (During the procedure the official signatures by Greek citizens surpassed 32.000, when the threshold was 16.000, while in Europe in overall the signatures were more than 1.800.000, when the threshold for a successful ECI is 1.000.000.

Although the creditors and the alternating Greek governments have ignored the will of the Greek people in a way which nullifies the country’s system of government by consecutive breaching of their pre-election commitments and – in an emblematic expression of their hybris – by disrespecting the July 5^th 2015 referendum’s outcome, and despite the fact that the mass civil protests have been repeatedly ignored and were brutally repressed, we call those who are affected by the emerging new situation to stand by our side tomorrow Sunday, May 22 at 7.00 pm at Syntagma square. Not in the hope that our presence will change the already taken decisions of the power centers in the country and abroad, but because “the actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.”

SAVE GREEK WATER, Initiative for the non privatization of water in Greece

[box] Four groups declared today their (non-binding) intent to buy 51% of the EYATh share. Suez cooperating with local mega-contractor Bobolas was no surprise to anyone, as was Veolia’s backing off; the latter seems to have decided to withdraw from Europe if such can be discerned from the selling of its Portugal business to a Chinese company[/box]

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Report by enet

The four competitors are: French Suez Environment with ELLAKTOR (controlled by Bobolas and Kalitsantsis), GEK-TERNA with local businessman G. Apostolopoulos (owner of Athens Medical) and the Israeli Mekorot, the Greek-Russian businessman Ivan Savvides and Movement 136, a citizens’ initiative.

In detail:

French Suez Environment in joint venture with ELLAKTOR (controlled by local contractors Bobolas and Kalitsantsis) was no surprise to anyone. Suez already owns 5% of the EYATh shares; Suez also took part in the abortive 2009 public tender when a minority part of such shares were to be sold.

GEK-TERNA (a greek public works contractor) and local health services businessman G. Apostolopoulos in joint venture with the Israeli Mekorot, as, according to the tender’s terms, competitors must prove at least a 5 year long experience in water and hygiene issues in cities with at least 500.000 inhabitants (which the former two obviously don’t have. Same of course is valid for ELLAKTOR above).

Ivan Savvides hasn’t yet found a water services company to enter the tender with and therefore has asked for a two month postponement.

Movement 136 is a local citizens’ initiative against the privatization of water services. They claim that water services shall be run by their users organized in cooperatives. Their name stems from their claim that if all users of the EYATh water services acted together the cost for acquiring the shares would be € 136 per household.

Veolia and Aqualia who have taken part in the 2009 public did not express any intention to compete in this public tender.

According to the public tender terms, the first part of the procedure will deal with the ability of the competitors to cover technical and financial issues. Legal issues will also be examined. Those found competent will proceed to the next phase: they will be permitted access to the ledgers and minutes of EYATh and then they will submit their bids.

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[box] In an impressive strategy move, Movement 136 from Thessaloniki, finds the funds needed to participate in the tender for the sale of EYATH. Despite the doubts in theory as for example the fact that since the company is public we are already all  “shareholders” , so basically we re-buy something that belongs to us already, and despite other reservations regarding the “noble intentions” of the funders, from a realistic prospect, this move  is an answer in “market” terms  so that the water company of Thessaloniki does not pass easily into the hands of Suez and Aktor. It’s probably a checkmate move in a condition where the unconstitutionality and the legal struggles but also the democratic consensus of citizens is  “postponed” for the future, and where the state of emergency has become nothing less than permanent. Hopefully the referendum announced by the municipality of Thessaloniki will be also decisive  for not privatizing the company eventually, though unfortunately it is not legally binding for the government.[/box]

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Republication from enet

Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates has come out in support of an initiative taken by Thessaloniki citizens to acquire a 51% stake in the city’s public water company Eyath, which the government is seeking to privatise.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, whose primary aim is to enhance world healthcare, is among 22 international organisations supporting the citizens’ movement, known as Initiative 136.

The government last February announced a public tender to sell the controlling stake in Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewerage (Eyath).

Initiative 136 is among four investment groups that have expressed interest in the international tender for the purchase of a 51% stake in the company.

The citizens’ initiative opposes the privatisation of the company and proposes its social management through local-level cooperatives.

The name of the initiative comes from dividing the estimated value of Eyath by the number of users, which produces the symbolic number of €136.

According to the initiative’s manifesto, the government’s privatisation plan for Eyath “is another case of implementation of the model ‘privatisation of the profits, socialisation of the loss'”.

“Water is the ultimate commodity that nature offers us and the United Nations has recognised that the access to clean water and sanitation is a human right,” Initiative 136 says.

They stress that Eyath is an efficient and profitable company that offers quality water services in low prices, without ever reporting any financial loss. The company’s profits during the last 5 years were €75m, while the price of the takeover after the collapse of its stock market value is not more than €55m.

The following organisations have said they will offer financial support to Initiative 136: Accion International and Accion USA, Amalgamated Bank of New York (Amalgamated Ladies Garment Workers Union), Banca Etica, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Blue Orchard Finance, Calvert Foundation, Charity Bank, Citizens Energy Company, Credit Cooperatif, Cultura Sparebank, Ecology Building Society, Epiphany Funds, FINCA International, GLS Gemeinschaftsbank, Merkur Cooperative Bank, Oikocredit USA, Shared Interest, Social Fisnance USA, Symbiotics, Cooperative Banking Group, Unity Trust Bank, Working Capital for Community Needs (WCCN).

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[box] In the open popular assembly against the privatization of EYATH organized on the 28 of March by the EYATH Employees Union  Thermi Municipality was represented by the Mayor Theodoros Papadopoulos and Deputy Mayor of Planning, Development & Communication Socrates Famellos. They renewed their support in every effort against EYATH privatization and reported that the Municipality of Thermi had adopted a relevant resolution since 2011[/box]

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Resolution of the Therme Municipality Council nr. 288/2011

Don’t give EYATh away – Support the EYATh Workers Union

 At the same time when the Water and Hygiene services in big European cities, such as Paris and Berlin, are returned to municipal control, the Greek Government proceeds with selling EYATh to private companies, despite what the Prime Minister promised in his speech (2009 Thessaloniki International Exhibition) namely that “water resources are not to be privatized”. EYATh is a public company dealing in water for the common good, has profits and is not burdened with any loan payments.

The international tendency towards returning water services to the public sector is based on the following principles and facts:

Water is a common social good, necessary for life itself, and thus cannot become a trading commodity used for the profit of private interests. Everyone shall have access to it especially the lower and suffering parts of human society.

Private control of water led to:

• Minimal investment and the neglect of maintenance on water networks
• Increases on the water price
• A lowering on the quality of services mainly due to huge decreases in personnel
• Depletion of the water reserves through overconsumption

We need to prepare for the climate change whose presence is already known and the shortage of water this will lead to. Therefore water consumption shall be controlled by the public authorities, otherwise it will easily become just another factor leading to the increase of profits of those that control it irrespective of any consequences.

We consider it absolutely unacceptable that the water networks, constructed by the Greek State with public funds, are to be sold to private speculators especially at such a low price. This decision for the alienation of an important factor of public wealth inevitably leads to the loss of the know-how acquired by EYATh during its long years of public service that can and shall be used for the public good.

We insist that EYATh be kept a public company and that it shall be turned over to the control of the local municipalities – representatives of its actual investors and shareholders, the citizens of the Thessaloniki area.

The government’s decision entails catastrophic consequences in that it alienates one of the most important local industries against the real needs of the country for investment and development.

Therefore we stand in allegiance to the EYATh personnel and ask for a plebiscite to decide for or against the privatization of water and sewage services.

Referendum NOW that water is a common good!

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